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North Korea Conducts Nuke Test

First test since 2006 draws international condemnation

By Jason Farago, Newser Staff

Posted May 25, 2009 2:38 AM CDT

(Newser) – North Korea announced today it had successfully conducted its first nuclear test since 2006, catching the South and the US off guard and drawing a swift denunciation from Barack Obama. The underground test produced a 4.7-magnitude earthquake, but as with the previous test, it remains unclear whether the North has successfully expanded its weapons capabilities. Hours later, the country fired a short-range missile from its east coast.

The South Korean government, still in mourning over the suicide of its ex-president, held an emergency meeting, while Obama said in a statement that Pyongyang was "in violation of international law." A UN Security Council meeting has been scheduled for later today. The test comes amid growing questions about Kim Jong-Il's health and succession. "One has to wonder if this is part of the internal political transition that may be occurring inside North Korea," said an MIT professor.

[Images (8)]

[Quotes (1)]

North Korean leader Kim Jong Il watches flight training as he inspects the Korean People's Army Air Force Unit 814 at an unknown location in North Korea. (AP Photo/Korean Central News Agency via Korea News Service, File)

The cooling tower of the Yongbyon nuclear complex, the most visible symbol of North's nuclear weapons program, was recently demolished. (AP Photo/Xinhua, Gao Haorong)

The North Korean flag in the center of this protest in Seoul reads: "Out, North Korean nuclear test." (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)

South Korean protesters burn a mock North nuclear missile with photos of Kim Jong Il and a national flag during a rally against North Korea's nuclear test in Seoul today. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)

South Korean protesters burn defaced photos of North Korean leader Kim Jong Il during a rally against North Korea's nuclear test in Seoul, South Korea, today. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)

A pedestrian reads an extra edition of a Japanese newspaper reporting North Korea's nuclear test in Tokyo, Japan, today. (AP Photo/Shizuo Kambayashi)

North Korea defiantly declared that it successfully carried out its second underground nuclear test - a major provocation after launching a rocket widely believed to test missile technology. (AP Photo/KRT TV, File)

North Korea announced today that it successfully carried out an underground nuclear test, weeks after threatening to restart its rogue atomic program. (AP Photo/ Lee Jin-man)

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Such provocations will only serve to deepen North Korea’s isolation. It will not find international acceptance unless it abandons its pursuit of weapons of mass destruction and their means of delivery. - Barack Obama

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North Korea Conducts Nuke Test